PITTSBURGH – With their backs up against the wall, it is a must-win weekend for the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (15-13, 5-8) as the Panthers host Seton Hall (18-8, 6-7) on Friday evening, before ending the regular-season at Villanova (11-17, 5-8) on Sunday afternoon.

SETTING THE SCENE:

Pitt is still very much alive in the race for the postseason and enters the final weekend of play in ninth place with a league record of 5-8. There are still five teams that are alive for the three remaining spots into the Big East Tournament, but for Pitt, it must win its final two matches for any chance of making it.

6. St. John’s (20-10, 7-7) - St. John’s defeated Rutgers on Wednesday night, and if the Red Storm can defeat DePaul on Friday, it will clinch a berth. However, if the Blue Demons upset St. John’s and Pitt wins out, the Panthers will be ahead of St. John’s because Pitt won the head-to-head battle.

7. Seton Hall (18-8, 6-7) – If Pitt beats Seton Hall on Friday, both teams will be 6-8. If they both then win on Sunday, the two teams will be tied at 7-8 and it would come down to a tie-breaker because both teams would have defeated each other once.

8. USF (15-12, 6-7) – The Bulls have Connecticut and Georgetown this weekend. If USF splits those two matches, they would be ahead of Pitt in the standings (if Pitt wins out) because USF defeated Pitt head-to-head.

10. Villanova (11-17, 5-8) – If Villanova can improve to 6-8 with a win against Syracuse on Friday, it could potentially set up a Win-and-In scenario between the Wildcats and the Panthers on Sunday, depending on who owns the tie-breaker.

Tie-Breaking Policy: The following policies are set up to break ties at the end of the regular-season for selection/seeding purposes. Follow the appropriate steps in order.

1. Regular season head-to-head results. If three or more teams are tied, they are viewed as a "miniconference" when comparing head-to-head results. The team or teams with the best combined record versus the other teams in the mini-conference gains the advantage.

2. Each team's percentage of league games won (total league games won/total league games played).

3. Each team's percentage of league points won (total league points won/total league points played --

includes points won and lost).

4. If ties cannot be broken, the Commissioner or his designee will conduct a coin flip.

“On and off the court Alex, Margy, Alexa and Jasmine have added so much to our volleyball program,” head coach Toby Rens said. “We will be losing four very hard working individuals. Their work ethic and dedication to the team has been inspiring to everyone around them. Day in and day out they’ve added so much value to the program here at Pitt. They will be greatly missed.”

Margy Acton: In just three years, Margy Acton stamped her name into the Pitt record book numerous times. She is currently fifth all-time at Pitt in career digs (1,353) and became just the tenth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 dig mark. She has increased her total digs and digs per set average every season, and this year is currently ninth all-time for digs in a single-season with 468. Acton was named to three all-tournament teams this season and is currently sixth in the Big East with a 4.82 digs per set average. She also holds the Big East record for digs in a single match with 45 against Robert Morris in 2010.

Alexa Campbell: After moving from a primarily defensive roll as a junior, Alexa Campbell has played all-around this season and has had the most productive hitting year of her career. Campbell is second on the team with 215 kills, and has crushed her previous season-high of 106 kills as a sophomore. The Macungie, Pa.native has also contributed 213 digs, the fourth most on the team.

Jasmine Dittrich: Dittrich has been a force at the net in her two years with the Panthers. The Minnesota transfer has collected 176 total blocks at Pitt, to go along with 338 kills and a .263 career hitting percentage.

Alex Phillips: A four-year member of the squad, Phillips has recorded 32 kills and a career-best 14 blocks as a senior. Two matches ago against USF, The Homewood, Ala. native registered career-highs with 10 kills and a .533 hitting percentage, while tying her career-high in blocks with five.

Live stats for both matches this weekend are available by clicking here.

Must Win Weekend For Pitt VolleyballPanthers enter the weekend in ninth place